A former priest accused of sexually abusing young boys in the West Midlands asked to meet one of his alleged victims after returning to Britain from America, a court has been told.

Birmingham Crown Court heard James Robinson, who is alleged to have molested six boys between 1959 and 1983, met one of them at a pub in the Walsall area in the late 1990s.

Giving evidence on the third day of the 73-year-old's trial, relatives of the alleged victim, who cannot be named, said Robinson was taken to see him after returning to the UK to visit his sick mother.

The brother-in-law of the alleged victim told jurors Robinson said he would like to meet his now accuser after inquiring about his welfare.

The witness, who cannot be named to protect his relative's identity, told the court: "He (Robinson) said, 'I would like to meet him,' and I said I would phone his house.

"I spoke to one of his children and they said he was in the pub and he (Robinson) said 'Can we go and see him?'."

Robinson, the court heard, then drove to the pub and was introduced to the alleged victim, who looked taken aback, before the two men talked for around 45 minutes.

Earlier, the alleged victim's sister told the court he called family members together within weeks of meeting Robinson and made allegations against him.

The woman said Robinson, who was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1971, had been a regular visitor to her family home in the Aldridge area of Walsall and was trusted by her parents.

The defendant, who is standing trial under his full name of Richard John James Robinson, was extradited from the Unites States last year. He denies a total of 22 charges, including 12 counts of indecent assault and three counts of indecency with a child.